1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technology for designing a product such as a MFP (Multi Function Printer, Multi Function Peripheral).
2. Description of the Related Art
At the early stages of designing a product such as an MFP, product specifications are undefined. Thus, in these stages, product design is conducted while referring to a diagram (general view) 300 illustrating mutual connections between the electrical components included in the product, and an IO (Input/Output) table illustrating the connection relationship with respect to each pin of the connectors of the electric components, and by manually updating the data indicated by the general view 300 and the IO table. Here, the term “electric component” includes a component including one or more pins (terminals). The electric component may be, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB), a mechatronic component, or a wiring harness component. The mechatronic component may be, for example, a motor, a sensor, or a clutch.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams for describing a process of editing the electric specifications of an entire product according to an example in the related art. In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 300 represents a general view illustrating mutual connections between the electrical components included in the product, and reference numeral 200 represents an IO table illustrating the connection relationship with respect to each pin of the connectors of the electric components. FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of a portion 100 of the general view 300. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an example where the product includes a total of approximately 500 electric components (300 mechatronic components, 150 wiring harness components, 40 PCBs). In the process of designing the product, a designer of the product tests the connections assigned to the electric components and makes alterations and modifications while updating the data indicated by the general view 300 and the IO table 200.
As described above, in the early stages of designing a product according to an example in the related art, the designer uses the general view 300 and the IO table 200 and makes alterations and modifications while manually updating the data indicated by the general view 300 and the IO table. The process of updating the general view is not only burdensome but also leads to errors because the updating is performed manually. Further, error also occurs due to the difficulty of visually confirming the connection specifications of the entire product.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2009-223697 and 2009-223698 disclose a technology of supporting a development process by inspecting a design specification or a circuit diagram after review. However, this technology does not take into consideration the early stages of designing a product where specifications of the product are yet to be defined. Therefore, the disclosed technology does not solve the above-described problems.